"We knew we had to score runs and put the ball in play to beat this team, and we did exactly that," St. Thomas More Coach Andria Waguespack said. "This is one of the best hitting performances we've had the entire year. They came out, and they proved that they deserved to be here. They earned that championship this weekend."

St. Thomas More scored eight runs in the first three innings, including doubles by Whitney Romero, Courtney Halsell, Bailey Hemphill, Jaime Landry and Allison Derise and runs by Romero, Halsell, Adele Ory, Landry, Tori Andrus and Lexxi Gauthreaux.

"We were able to stay disciplined enough to get it on the white, and we just hammered it tonight," Waguespack said. "We did a very good job. We hit the ball hard — really for the most part the entire lineup, so I'm super excited about that."

Vandebilt Catholic put together a 4-1 run from the bottom of the third through the fifth inning to cut the margin to within 9-4, but never any closer.

Romero earned Outstanding Player honors with five strikeouts in the circle and a 3-for-4 performance with a fourth-inning home run and a pair of doubles.

"I think it was really important to jump on 'em early," Romero said. "We got the momentum on our side, and I think that's what powered us through the whole game."

The game was the last as Vandebilt coach for Margaret Johnson after 24 seasons and seven state championships.